The Founder Institute is expanding into South America with the launch of three new locations, bringing the total number of locations where the Institute operates four month incubation programs to sixteen cities across four continents. The global idea-stage incubator is now on track to graduate 600 companies per year worldwide. The three new locations include:
- Bogotá, Colombia - Why? The Incoming President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, is preparing plans, "Vive Digital," to invest more than $2B in communications and information technology, including a $30M fund to stimulate the growth of Venture Capital, and Colombia has improved in "Protecting Investors" each year according to the World Bank's “Doing Business Report.”
- Santiago, Chile - Why? The President of Chile, Sebastian Piñera Echeñique, has a public goal to create 100,000 new businesses and 800,000 jobs by 2014, and there are aggressive government subsidies and technology programs, including a $40,000 subsidy for technology startups under the “Startup Chile” program.
- San Francisco, California - Why? Demand in the greater Bay Area exceeds current capacity, so, with the addition of San Francisco, there will now be four semesters per year in the Bay Area with two semesters operating concurrently for the majority of 2011, graduating in excess of 100 companies per year in the region.
“We see enormous opportunities for entrepreneurs all around the globe, and there are great companies being formed in every city where we operate, from Brussels to San Diego,” states Adeo Ressi, CEO of the Founder Institute. “This expansion is critical toward our goal of launching 1,000 meaningful and enduring technology companies per year by globalizing the culture and innovation of Silicon Valley. We are excited to enter countries where the government encourages technological innovation. The Founder Institute has had great success in Singapore, where the government supports 100% of our graduates with investment grants, market access and other services. We expect to see similar results in South America.”
2011 Spring and Summer admissions are now open for passionate people looking to start a technology company. Those who apply before the Early Admissions deadlines can take the predictive Admissions Test for free, and also have a better chance of being accepted into the program. The open locations, application deadlines and links are listed below:
| Apply Link | Early Admissions | Final Admissions | Semester Start |
| South America | |||
| March 2011 Colombia (Bogotá) - New | March 13, '11 | April 10, '11 | April 26, '11 |
| Sept 2011 Chile (Santiago) - New | August 7, '11 | Sept 4, '11 | Sept 25, '11 |
| North America | |||
| Spring 2011 San Diego | Jan 30, '11 | March 6, '11 | March 16, '11 |
| Spring 2011 Los Angeles | Jan 30, '11 | Feb 13, '11 | Feb 20, '11 |
| Spring 2011 New York | Feb 13, '11 | March 13, '11 | March 20, '11 |
| Spring 2011 Washington DC | Feb 13, '11 | March 13, '11 | March 23, '11 |
| Spring 2011 San Francisco - New | Feb 13, '11 | Feb 20, '11 | Feb 27, '11 |
| Summer 2011 Seattle | March 13, '11 | April 10, '11 | April 18, '11 |
| Europe | |||
| Spring 2011 Berlin | Feb 13, '11 | March 6, '11 | March 26, '11 |
| Spring 2011 Brussels | Feb 13, '11 | March 6, '11 | March 28, '11 |
| Spring 2011 Paris | Feb 13, '11 | March 6, '11 | March 26, '11 |
| Asia | |||
| Spring 2011 Singapore | March 13, '11 | April 3, '11 | April 11, '11 |
The Institute plans to operate in over 20 locations by the close of 2011, and is looking for local startup leaders to help run chapters in new cities around the world. Those interested can apply here. In particular, the Institute is looking for people that are passionate about entrepreneurship and interested in launching new technology companies across Eastern Europe, Asia, Scandinavia and South America. Chicago, Boston, Denver and Houston are also seeking additional leadership talent to help in 2011.
Thank you, and congratulations to the various local Leaders for their help!
